Hypothetical situations are fun to imagine. As adults, these situations are often regarded as frivolous, useless, and frankly, child’s play. However, even the childish ones can tell you much about yourself and others. For instance, the following classic children’s question can help you and others find what you value the most: “If you were the president, what is the first/most important thing you would do?” Hypotheticals are also used in professional settings as well for situations such as interview questions.
Recently, I had been reading a book on the science of the brain when the topic of lizard thinking came up. Lizards, although neat, have a very rudimentary thinking process (at least when compared to humans). They think in terms of a few programs that are pre-set. When approached with a situation, they assess whether it has to do with one of the following:
- Food
- Mating
- Safety
Whatever category a situation falls into, their response program is essentially preset.
When hearing this, I thought to myself, “How stupid can a lizard be?” Then a hypothetical situation came to mind that I would like to share with you. While ignoring all the obvious limitations, see what you would say:
You are sitting in a church pew listening to a message from a pastor. All of a sudden, the church doors are opened, and a lizard wanders into the sanctuary, sits right beside you, and starts listening to the sermon. (Once again, ignoring the obvious limitations) You look over to the lizard sitting there and start asking yourself, “What is the difference between this lizard and me?”
This hypothetical, I know at first glance, is absolutely ridiculous for several reasons. But entertain it for a second. A few ideas may come to mind. You can point out the structural differences of the lizard (e.g., toes, scaly skin, size). You may point out that it is ridiculous that a lizard is appearing to listen to a sermon, as it likely has no soul or complex consciousness. But perhaps, you think critically about this hypothetical and say, “Honestly, overall, not much is different between this pious lizard and me.”
We are both sitting here, listening to this sermon, but when life gets tough, we both resort to pre-programmed systems. This lizard will assess which program to go with and then act according to that program, almost like a robot that has been given a command. But I (or you as the reader) am a saved individual by the grace of God, who still resorts to the flesh to respond to stress.
I lash out, I speak rashly, I fear, I hurt, I hurt others. We have much more in common with this lizard than we think, as we both are preprogrammed from birth. Yet, where we differ greatly is that we have the God-given capacity to adapt righteously.
Romans 13:14 tells believers to, “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” This means to cut off the fleshly desires as the source. Do not feed them by doing things that flesh enjoys. Feed your new man/woman and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Feed the Spirit with the Word, fellowship, and prayer. Feeding one starves the other. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this in Galatians 5:16 when he eloquently teaches, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Therefore, at every turn, fight those lizard tendencies by equipping Christ and walking in the Spirit. Do not feed the flesh and give way to be more like the pious lizard who sits on the pew.